Salesforce Open CTI is scheduled to retire on February 28, 2028. Organizations currently using Open CTI should begin planning their transition to a supported voice architecture before the retirement date. Salesforce recommends moving to Salesforce Voice as part of this transition.

For companies with established contact center environments, this migration is more than replacing a phone interface. Open CTI may be connected to Salesforce customizations, telephony platforms, call logging, reporting, integrations, routing workflows, and agent processes.

That means the right starting point is not simply choosing a replacement. Companies should first understand what they have today, what will change, and which parts of the existing environment need to be redesigned.

What Is Changing with Salesforce Open CTI?

Open CTI has traditionally allowed organizations to connect third-party telephony systems with Salesforce. Over time, many companies have built custom workflows and integrations around that setup.

Salesforce has placed Open CTI into maintenance mode and scheduled it for retirement on February 28, 2028. Salesforce also recommends transitioning to Salesforce Voice.

This creates an important planning question:

What does your organization need from its current Open CTI implementation, and how will those capabilities be delivered in the new Salesforce Voice environment?

The answer will vary depending on your telephony provider, Salesforce configuration, integrations, reporting requirements, compliance needs, and agent workflows.

1. Audit Your Existing Open CTI Customizations

Before designing the new environment, create an inventory of the current Open CTI implementation.

Look at:

• Custom CTI components and configurations
• Screen pops
• Call logging
• Click-to-dial functionality
• Inbound and outbound call workflows
• Call transfers and conferences
• Custom Salesforce automation
• Apex, APIs, Lightning components, or other custom development
• Agent and supervisor workflows
• Reports and dashboards that depend on call data

This audit helps separate functionality that needs to be migrated from functionality that can be redesigned or retired.

A common mistake is to assume that every existing Open CTI feature should be recreated exactly as it is today. Migration is also an opportunity to simplify workflows where the existing implementation has accumulated unnecessary customization.

2. Understand the VoiceCall Data Model

One of the important technical considerations is how call information is represented in Salesforce.

Existing Open CTI implementations may rely heavily on Tasks and Activities for call logging. Salesforce Voice introduces the VoiceCall object for voice interactions.

That change can affect:

• Reports
• Dashboards
• Salesforce automation
• Integrations
• Call history
• Data extraction
• Supervisor reporting
• Historical analysis

Before migration, identify where call-related data is currently stored and how it is being used.

Your team should then define which information needs to move into the new VoiceCall model and how historical data will continue to be reported.

This is particularly important for organizations that rely on years of call activity for operational reporting, compliance, customer service analysis, or performance measurement.

3. Evaluate Your Telephony Architecture

Migrating away from Open CTI does not automatically mean replacing your entire telephony environment.

The right architecture depends on your existing provider, business requirements, Salesforce setup, regional needs, integrations, and future contact center strategy.

Organizations should evaluate questions such as:

• Can the existing telephony provider work with the target Salesforce Voice architecture?
• Should the organization use Bring Your Own Telephony?
• Would a Salesforce Voice deployment with Amazon Connect make sense?
• What happens to existing IVR and call routing?
• How will phone numbers be managed?
• How will call recordings be handled?
• What regional or compliance requirements apply?
• What integrations need to remain in place?

The goal should be to select the right voice architecture for the business rather than simply replacing Open CTI with another technology.

4. Review Salesforce Voice and Amazon Connect Options

Salesforce Voice should be evaluated as part of the migration strategy, particularly where organizations want voice interactions to become more closely connected to Salesforce service workflows.

For companies considering Amazon Connect, the assessment should include:

• Contact flows and IVR
• Call routing
• Queue configuration
• Phone number management
• Call recording
• Transcription requirements
• Salesforce integration
• VoiceCall records
• Reporting
• Agent workflows
• Security and access controls

Amazon Connect can be part of a Salesforce Voice architecture, but it should not be selected simply because Open CTI is retiring.

The decision should be based on the organization's contact center requirements and the role voice needs to play within its broader Salesforce environment.

5. Review Omni-Channel and Agent Routing

Open CTI migration can also affect how calls are routed to agents.

If the future environment uses Salesforce Voice and Omni-Channel, review the existing routing model and determine how it should work in the new environment.

Consider:

• Queues
• Agent availability
• Skills
• Routing priorities
• Escalations
• Transfers
• Supervisor workflows
• Capacity management
• Business-hour rules

The objective should be to ensure that voice routing fits into the wider service operation instead of creating a separate workflow for phone interactions.

6. Identify Integration Dependencies

Most enterprise contact center environments do not operate in isolation.

Your Open CTI implementation may interact with CRM data, customer databases, ERP platforms, reporting tools, workforce management systems, recording platforms, or custom applications.

Create an integration inventory before development begins.

For each integration, determine whether it should be:

Migrated: The integration remains necessary and needs to be rebuilt or adapted.

Replaced: A new Salesforce Voice or platform capability can provide the required functionality.

Retired: The integration is no longer required.

This exercise can reduce unnecessary development and reveal dependencies that might otherwise appear late in the project.

7. Consider Security, Compliance and Call Recording

Voice migration also needs to account for security and compliance requirements.

Organizations should review:

• Call recording policies
• Data retention
• Access permissions
• Sensitive customer information
• Transcription requirements
• Regional data considerations
• Audit requirements
• Encryption and security controls
• Recording access for supervisors and administrators

These requirements should be included in the architecture and testing plan rather than addressed after implementation.

For regulated industries, the migration team should involve the relevant security, compliance, and legal stakeholders early in the process.

8. Plan for Agent Experience and Training

A technically successful migration can still create operational problems if agents are not prepared for the new environment.

Compare the current and future agent experience.

Identify changes to:

• How calls are received
• How customer information appears
• Call controls
• Transfers
• Call notes
• Wrap-up processes
• Case creation
• Call history
• Supervisor escalation

Use these findings to create a focused training plan.

Where possible, involve agents and supervisors during testing rather than waiting until the final deployment stage.

9. Test the Complete Call Journey

Testing should cover more than whether a call connects.

A complete migration test should validate the customer and agent journey from beginning to end.

Test scenarios should include:

• Inbound calls
• Outbound calls
• Screen pops
• Customer identification
• Queue routing
• Transfers
• Conferences
• Hold and resume
• Voicemail
• Call logging
• VoiceCall creation
• Case association
• Call recording
• Transcription where applicable
• Reporting
• Integration failures
• Agent availability changes
• Escalation scenarios

Testing should also include negative and failure scenarios so teams understand what happens when an integration, agent, queue, or telephony component is unavailable.

10. Start Migration Planning Early

There is no single timeline that applies to every Open CTI migration.

The level of effort depends on factors such as:

• Number of agents
• Number of Salesforce orgs
• Telephony architecture
• Custom development
• Number of integrations
• Historical data requirements
• Regional deployments
• Compliance requirements
• Testing complexity
• Training requirements

A simple implementation and a large enterprise contact center can have very different migration requirements.

The earlier an organization starts its assessment, the more time it has to identify dependencies, make architecture decisions, test the new environment, and prepare users before the February 28, 2028 retirement date.

Common Open CTI Migration Mistakes

Treating it as a simple CTI replacement

Replacing the phone interface without reviewing the surrounding Salesforce workflows can leave important functionality disconnected.

Rebuilding every customization

Not every existing customization needs to be recreated. Some may be unnecessary in the future architecture.

Ignoring the VoiceCall data model

Reports and automation built around existing call records may require redesign.

Choosing a telephony platform too early

The telephony decision should follow an assessment of business, Salesforce, integration, and compliance requirements.

Leaving testing until the end

Voice migrations involve multiple systems. Early testing can expose architecture and integration issues before they affect production.

Focusing only on technology

Agents, supervisors, administrators, and support teams also need to be prepared for changes to their workflows.

Salesforce Open CTI Migration Checklist

Before moving into production, organizations should confirm that they have:

☐ Audited the current Open CTI configuration

☐ Documented existing customizations

☐ Identified telephony dependencies

☐ Reviewed Salesforce Voice deployment options

☐ Evaluated Amazon Connect or other telephony options where applicable

☐ Documented integrations

☐ Reviewed the VoiceCall data model

☐ Identified reporting and historical data requirements

☐ Reviewed Omni-Channel routing

☐ Defined security and compliance requirements

☐ Tested call flows and integrations

☐ Completed user acceptance testing

☐ Prepared agent and supervisor training

☐ Defined a deployment and rollback plan

☐ Established post-migration support

How La Confianza Can Help

Open CTI retirement touches both Salesforce and the contact center environment. Organizations need to consider CRM configuration, telephony, integrations, routing, data, reporting, security, and agent experience together.

La Confianza Technologies helps organizations evaluate Salesforce Voice and contact center requirements as part of a broader Salesforce transformation strategy.

Our approach starts with understanding the existing Open CTI environment, identifying dependencies, evaluating the target architecture, and defining the migration path before implementation begins.

For organizations using Salesforce with Amazon Connect, we can also help assess the requirements for connecting Salesforce service workflows with Amazon Connect capabilities.

The objective is not simply to replace Open CTI before retirement.

It is to create a voice environment that fits the organization's Salesforce architecture and contact center operations going forward.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is Salesforce Open CTI retiring?

Salesforce Open CTI is scheduled for retirement on February 28, 2028. Salesforce recommends that organizations transition to Salesforce Voice.

Do companies have to migrate to Amazon Connect?

No. Amazon Connect is one possible telephony option. The appropriate architecture depends on the organization's existing telephony environment and Salesforce requirements.

Will Open CTI continue to receive new features?

Salesforce has placed Open CTI in maintenance mode and is directing customers toward Salesforce Voice.

What happens to existing Open CTI customizations?

They should be assessed individually. Some functionality may need to be rebuilt, some may be replaced by Salesforce Voice capabilities, and some may no longer be required.

What should companies do first?

Start with an Open CTI assessment. Document the existing telephony setup, customizations, integrations, call data, routing, reporting, security requirements, and agent workflows. This provides the foundation for deciding on the appropriate migration architecture.

Start Planning Your Open CTI Migration

The February 28, 2028 retirement date gives organizations time to plan, but the complexity of each migration will depend on the existing environment.

A structured assessment can help identify dependencies, evaluate Salesforce Voice options, and create a practical migration roadmap before implementation begins.

Planning your Salesforce Open CTI migration?

Talk to us about your Salesforce Voice and contact center requirements.

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